Cooking with the Australian Womens Weekly Issue 79

ISSUE No. 79 As we ease into the year, we’re keeping it simple at Cooking with a bumper summer issue groaning with great tasting recipes that require a minimum of fuss. We all agree that summer meals need to be fast, so this month’s line up of easy pasta, quick pan dinners and barbecue ideas are what we all want to cook and eat. At the beginning of every year there’s always lists upon lists of the hottest food trends to look out for. Most we take with a grain of salt but this month we’ve embraced two of these predictions. Firstly, you’ll see even more food nostalgia and our ode to that trend is our sublime Summer Pudding recipe on page 66. It’s a celebration of berries and it’s been documented…

What you pack your lunch in is as important as the lunch itself. So it’s important to have the right kind of lunchbox to protect your food and keep it safely at the right temperature. Squashed sandwiches, leaked salad juices and crushed bananas are depressing scenarios and easily avoided by using a sturdy lunchbox. Have a variety of shapes and styles of lunch containers on hand to accommodate different seasons and types of lunches – one size doesn’t fit all. Classic styles A good lunchbox is also healthy for the environment, so forget plastic bags and choose an eco-friendly lunchbox that could last for years. Styles range from simple, economical supermarket buys, to smart canvas bag-like lunchboxes with multiple compartments. Look for a lunchbox with a little ventilation in warm weather, as food…

According to the Australian Chicken Meat Federation, the answer is yes, you can re-freeze chicken without affecting its safety. But there are a few rules: • The chicken needs to be properly defrosted in the fridge, below 5ºC, ideally on the lowest shelf. • You can only re-freeze the chicken if it has been defrosted for less than 24 hours. • DO NOT defrost chicken at room temperature, as bacteria grows and multiplies quickly. If you re-freeze chicken thawed out of the fridge, the bacteria will keep growing when it’s defrosted. • Thorough cooking, though, will destroy bacteria, so ensure that chicken meat is cooked through, and that raw chicken doesn’t touch anything that isn’t getting cooked or has aready been cooked.…

You can make your very own vanilla bean extract at home with two ingredients you likely already have: vodka and vanilla beans. We waste nothing in our Test Kitchen and add our scraped vanilla bean pods to a bottle or jar with vodka and store it in the pantry, allowing the flavour to slowly infuse. To get yours started, pour 2 cups of vodka into a glass jar with 3-4 vanilla beans (use new beans to amp it up in the beginning). Pop on a lid, making sure it is airtight, and place on a cool, dark shelf in the pantry. Give it a gentle shake from time to time and simply top up with vodka with each use, adding used vanilla bean pods as you go. This homemade addition beats any…

PG 18 Colourful summer combo PG 18 Great for leftover roast chicken PG 18 Fresh and light for lunch from the Test Kitchen If buffalo mozzarella is diffcult to find, replace with thinly sliced or torn bocconcini. Use a mandoline or speed peeler to make zucchini ribbons. Spiced plum cake PREP + COOK TIME 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES SERVES 12 2 cups (300g) plain flour2 teaspoons baking powder2 teaspoons ground ginger2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder¼ teaspoon salt180g butter, softened1 cup (220g) firmly packed brown sugar3 eggs¾ cup (180ml) buttermilk8 blood plums, quartered, or 16 small plums, halved1 teaspoon ground cinnamon¼ cup (55g) coconut sugar icing sugar and double cream, to serve 1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan. Grease a 24cm springform cake pan; line base and side with baking paper. 2 Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cocoa and salt into a…

Lunar New Year begins with the first new moon of the lunar calendar in February and continues until the 15th of the lunar month, when the moon is full. Traditionally, families gather to celebrate over meals and by giving money in red envelopes, called ‘hongbao’. The red colour symbolises prosperity – those who receive a red envelope are wished another safe and peaceful year. Lunar New Year ends with the Shangyuan or Lantern Festival, celebrated at night with displays and parades of painted lanterns. PG 28 from the Test Kitchen If Vietnamese mint is unavailable, you can use spearmint leaves instead. You can serve this recipe with jasmine rice; you will need to cook 2 cups (400g) rice to serve 6. This recipe can be prepared to the end of step 5, up to…